More Than 2.8 Million Transgender People Live in the U.S., Including Hundreds of Thousands of Teenagers

More than 2.8 million people in the U.S. identify as transgender, including about 724,000 minors. This is the finding of a new study—the largest analysis of its kind to date.

The research was conducted by specialists at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. They used federal surveys and state health agency records to estimate the size and demographic profile of the transgender population in each region of the country.

The report, published on August 20, records the presence of thousands of transgender teenagers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These findings stand in stark contrast to the policies of Donald Trump, whose administration has consistently removed references to transgender people from federal documents and weakened programs and legal protections for LGBTQ+ communities.

The authors note that their research relies on federal data collection programs that the current White House administration is dismantling. They warn this may prove to be the last comprehensive portrait of the U.S. transgender population for the coming decade, as such groups are gradually excluded from key national surveys—from health reports to crime statistics.

The analysis drew on 2021–2023 survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with statistics provided by state health agencies. Among the key findings:

⋅ 1% of the U.S. population aged 13 and older identify as transgender, including 0.8% of adults (over 2.1 million people) and 3.3% of adolescents aged 13–17 (around 724,000 people);

⋅ The highest concentration is among those aged 18–24 at 2.72%. By comparison, the share falls to 0.42% among those aged 35–64 and to 0.26% among people over 65;

⋅ Of the 2.1 million transgender adults in the United States, 32.7% (698,500) are trans women, 34.2% (730,500) are trans men, and 33.1% (707,100) are nonbinary;

⋅ The share of transgender adults is broadly similar in the West, Northeast, and Midwest (0.9%), while in the South it is 0.7%;

⋅ Minnesota has the highest proportion of transgender adults (1.2%), while Hawaii leads among transgender youth (3.6%). The variation across states, however, remains relatively modest.

"Transgender people live everywhere and are represented in every state," said Jody Herman, senior scholar at the Williams Institute and co-author of the study. She noted that the total transgender population in the United States exceeds that of several states. "This is a significant group with its own needs and barriers, and lawmakers should take that into account."

The Williams Institute, one of the leading centers for LGBTQ+ policy research, has published national estimates of the transgender population since 2011, when state-level gender identity data first became available. These estimates are regarded as the most reliable and have even been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents.

The researchers note that the quality and sources of data have improved with each new report, making it harder to compare figures over time. Still, the overall number of transgender adults has remained stable, while the latest findings show that younger generations are far more likely to identify as transgender.

According to Andrew Flores, visiting scholar at the Williams Institute and associate professor at American University, many factors are at play. Younger people are more likely to answer such survey questions and tend to live in environments where attitudes toward LGBTQ and transgender people are more open. "This generation feels safer, they see fewer threats and are therefore more willing to state their identity," he said, citing student protests in Florida against anti-trans policies as an example of visible support.

Some conservatives attribute the increase in transgender youth to "social contagion," claiming that adolescents merely imitate their peers. But Flores argues the rise reflects the ability to express oneself openly in a more accepting public environment.

He also noted that generational differences are shaped by language: older cohorts more often described themselves as gay or lesbian, while younger people identified as bisexual or pansexual. Among older transgender individuals, more identify as men or women, whereas nonbinary identities are more common among youth.

The report also points out that the racial and ethnic makeup of the transgender population broadly mirrors U.S. demographics, though the share is slightly higher among Native Americans, Latinos, and people of mixed race.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is moving aggressively to scale back data collection programs. Questions on gender identity have been removed from two key CDC surveys on behavior and mental health, as well as from Justice Department surveys on crime victims and sexual violence. The Census Bureau is also excluding such questions from several of its surveys. These steps follow an executive order signed on Trump’s first day in office declaring a commitment to "restoring biological truth" and directing the State Department to deny transgender people accurate passports.

Researchers warn that the disappearance of these data makes it impossible to continue such analyses. Even if a future administration restores the questions, the country will have lost up to a decade of information. "We only began to obtain reliable national data about ten years ago, and only recently have we started to understand how many transgender people live in the United States and what their characteristics are," Herman said. "If the sources suddenly vanish, it will be a serious step backward. This population is not going anywhere, but we will simply stop knowing more about them than we do today."

The data collected have been widely used by journalists, school boards, public health experts, civil rights lawyers, advocates, and lawmakers working to expand transgender rights. Researchers had hoped that federal statistics would help track how transgender Americans move within the country—including those leaving conservative states because of discriminatory laws. But without national surveys, such patterns will be extremely difficult to follow.

"In some policy circles, they say if you’re not counted, you don’t count," noted Andrew Flores. "And for members of the LGBTQ+ community, seeing numbers that reflect their lived experiences is very important."

Imara Jones, founder of the media organization TransLash, stressed that the loss of federal statistics has no easy fix. "The aim is erasure, and that erasure is meant to have real consequences, making it harder for people to be who they are," she said.

Flores added that the Williams Institute, together with other organizations, is already discussing ways to fill the gaps and continue gathering data without federal support. "We’re not just going to close up shop. We’re going to find a way to keep telling these stories and remain persistent."